USA Today Battles The Reverse Mortgage Industry
A storm is brewing between the reverse mortgage industry and USA Today, that in an op-ed, called the industry a "platform for predatory lending," according to a recent report from HousingWire.
"Unsurprisingly, the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association fought back, publishing its own op-ed in USA Today and calling out the crucial errors in the publication’s research and explanation of the loan," according to Jessica Guerin, an editor for HW.
"For starters, the USA Today story roasted the loan for its high foreclosure rate, but then acknowledged only briefly that a foreclosure often represents the natural conclusion of the loan, as the lender sends the property though the foreclosure process if the borrower passes away and the heirs forgo the option to repay the loan and retain the property."
According to the NRMLA, USA Today overlooked the fact that foreclosure is the natural end to a reverse mortgage once the borrower has passed on.
As for the example that USA Today used in its report, HW suggests that there are measures outlined in guidelines to protect non-borrowing spouses of borrowers when they pass away.
To learn more about the battle between the reverse mortgage industry and USA Today, click on the image above.
